


One Day Orchids Will Grow

by vol_ctrl



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angels Being Assholes (Good Omens), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asexuality Spectrum, Beelzebub Has a Penis (Good Omens), Beelzebub Has a Vulva (Good Omens), Enemies to Lovers, First Time, Gabriel Has a Penis (Good Omens), He/Him Pronouns For Gabriel (Good Omens), Heaven Wins AU, Heaven is Terrible (Good Omens), Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Making an Effort (Good Omens), Master/Slave, Other, Protective Gabriel, They/Them Pronouns for Beelzebub (Good Omens), Top Gabriel (Good Omens), power bottom beelzebub, prisoners of war, yes both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vol_ctrl/pseuds/vol_ctrl
Summary: The Great War commenced, and Heaven emerged victorious. In their great mercy, Heaven allowed the denizens of Hell to ascend, under the condition that they would be dispersed among the angels, and become wards of the Heavenly Host. Considered beyond redemption, the demons live like prisoners.Gabriel guards over his nemesis, Beelzebub, and sees not a defeated enemy--but a being still worthy of his respect. Beelzebub is consumed with misery and reluctant to accept their fate.A short series of vignettes for a Heaven Wins scenario, as requested by a reader.
Relationships: Beelzebub/Gabriel (Good Omens)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 82





	One Day Orchids Will Grow

**Author's Note:**

> I was commissioned to write this piece by a lovely long-time reader and fan, **TheDreamer240**! Hope you all enjoy ~ The title comes from a song that has always been on my Gabriel/Beelzebub playlist, ["Orchids"](https://youtu.be/ZFm6jqKy3-w) by The Shacks.

The pain of Ascending could only be compared to the pain of Falling. Instead of free-fall into the abyss, they had been shackled in chains, their wings maimed and ripped through with hooks, and dragged from the battleground of Earth. The horrible gnashing of teeth and screams of agony had been washed out by the chorus of victorious angels. 

And then, silence. A great, pregnant silence as Creation was wiped clean. The great power, the Beast of the Pit that had fueled their rage for millennia, their Infernal King, was severed from them.

At least when they had Fallen and lost the love of God, they had each other. Now, they were utterly alone. Thousands of demons, spoils of the Great War, left adrift in the celestial sea. Their final punishment was solitude.

The Host of Heaven took pity on the lost souls. In their great mercy, they provided for the demons. It would have been much too risky to imprison the survivors in one place. Demons had no limit to their infernal plots and schemes. It was best to keep them apart, to keep them under constant surveillance.

Redemption was impossible. These souls were twice damned, if anything. As such, it was the duty of the angels to take on these wards, to be their eternal guardians and prevent them from ever rebelling again.

Pain should have been an impossible sensation in Heaven, but the forsaken had not been forgiven for their betrayals. Agony was part and parcel of being a demon, but the burn of holy wounds robbed them even of the sweet release of unconsciousness, denied them of sleep.

Many had been absolved of their pain, gifted with a swift death during the hours of combat. Gabriel himself had liberated many demons of their existence, banished them to oblivion. But he hadn’t been able to kill his adversary. The thought still haunted him. He’d been poised for the killing blow. But in that last moment, as Gabriel stared into blood-streaked eyes and felt the tip of Beelzebub’s blade against his ribs, he saw not his enemy, but his kin.

_ “What will you do with the zzpoilzz of war, Gabriel?”  _ Beelzebub had looked mad with fury, feral with only the promise of obliviation before them. And yet their blade stilled. He was still haunted by the horror of their smile, then.  _ “You will become what you hate. Let that hate conzzume you, Gabriel. Zztrike me down!” _

No, Beelzebub was different. They were no mere demon. Once, they had been Gabriel’s colleague--no, his sibling. Perhaps even a friend. It was so long ago now, whatever bond had existed between them before had faded, burned away by their betrayal. In the eons that stretched between the time before and now, something had brewed between them. Rivalry, antagonism, yes, but there was a thread of respect woven in the fabric of their existence. A delicate balance that empowered both of them.

Now the Lord of Hell sat shackled behind golden bars.

“It’zz not polite to zztare,” Beelzebub growled.

Gabriel hadn’t realized they were awake; unaware that they were unable to sleep.

A strangled laugh scratched from their throat. “Even angelzz aren’t above gloating…”

“Gloating? I’m not gloating,” Gabriel said indignantly.

Beelzebub managed to lift their head enough to fix one ice-blue eye on the archangel. He looked as insufferably coiffed as ever, wearing stupidly modern human clothes. All that was gone now--Gabriel had gone more native than he would admit, with his fancy clothes and his short, styled hair. The war had destroyed human civilization, but Gabriel still just  _ had _ to wear his suit.

Insults and spite bubbled up in their chest, but exhaustion drained them. “You’re gloating,” they spat lamely. “All high and mighty…!” they tried to rally, but the fight fell out of them.

“All this misery,” Gabriel sighed. “It’s really unnecessary, Zebiel.”

Beelzebub let out a shriek, inhuman and piercing.

“Oh, do be quiet.” Gabriel grimaced. “That is the name God gave you.”

Beelzebub was filled with a fury and anguish that had been ruminating for millennia.

“You’ve been  _ allowed  _ to have it back. No more of these nonsense demonic names.”

“That’zz not who I am!” Beelzebub snarled, their voice broken.

“You’ve always been… pragmatic,” Gabriel insisted. “You know you’ve lost. You know we had no choice but to--”

“I would have rather been DEZZTROYED than become a zzlave to you!” Beelzebub sneered.

Gabriel frowned. He knew this to be true. Beelzebub had, more than once, attempted to end themself. Hence why Gabriel had no choice but keep them shackled and restrained. It was a pitiful sight unbefitting his powerful adversary.

“You’re not a  _ slave,  _ Zebiel. You are my ward.” Gabriel gestured emphatically at the space the demon had been allowed. They had been given amenities, albeit behind bars.

Beelzebub choked out a sound that was more sob than laugh.

“Fuck, I forgot how goddamn  _ diplomatic  _ you zzhitzz are,” they muttered out in a gravely tone.

“If you use that kind of language, I’m going to leave you be.”

“Good!” Beelzebub sneered. “Fuck you! Fuck this! Fuck God!” With a snap, the breath was stolen from their lungs as the collar around their neck suddenly constricted. They didn’t need to breathe, but the loss of air was painful and dizzying. Their head was forced up with the tension of the collar, and they stared into Gabriel’s unforgiving eyes.

“Ye-zzz,” Beelzebub hissed. “Go on,” they choked. “End it.”

Gabriel’s brow creased and he swiftly snapped his fingers again, releasing Beelzebub. The indignant fury that had swelled up at Beelzebub’s words fell away as he saw that look in his adversary’s eyes. Beelzebub welcomed obliviation, longed for it. Gabriel would not give in. He would not give the demon what they wanted. Beelzebub was too powerful, too ancient to be snuffed out, even in righteous retribution.

With a gesture of his hand, a gate appeared before him in the bars and swung open. Gabriel stepped forward stiffly.

Beelzebub watched him with wild eyes. “Brave Archangel Gabriel,” they hissed. “Come to kill me with your bare handzz?” The manic glee in Beelzebub’s bloodied face made Gabriel sick to his stomach.

“Enough of this,” Gabriel said wearily, looking down at Beelzebub with his hands on his hips. “You’re in Paradise now.” The angel adjusted his trousers as he came to squat in front of Beelzebub, bringing them near eye-to-eye. “You have--” he considered his words for a moment, “well, not a second chance, but… it’s not eternal torment, no matter how much you want it to be.”

Beelzebub’s nose wrinkled, and they spit in Gabriel’s face.

Gabriel jerked as the spit struck his cheek, eyes closed and jaw tense. He reached for his pocket square and used it to wipe the spit from his face. As he dropped his hand back to his knee, Beelzebub saw he was smiling.

“Spiteful to the very last.”

“If you’re going to beat me into zzubmizzion, do it with your fistzz, not your wordzz, Archangel. It would be much more  _ merciful, _ ” Beelzebub growled.

Gabriel sighed. It was clear he wasn’t getting through to Beelzebub. Perhaps there would be no convincing the demon that their punishment need not entail chains and torture. Their torment was the loss of God’s love, the loss of the war. Their imprisonment was mercy, and nothing less.

“I’m not going to beat you,” Gabriel said as he got back to his feet. “I’m an  _ angel, _ ” he said with an incredulous look.

Beelzebub scoffed. “An angel,” they sneered. “Your lot would have exterminated uzz if it was God’zz will.”

“You would think you’d be a little more grateful that I saved you.” Gabriel snapped his fingers and the chains fell away to the floor.

Beelzebub’s arms ached from the sudden loss of the weight on their wrists. Their eyes snapped to Gabriel suspiciously, uncertain why the fool would unshackle them. The archangel busied himself with folding his pocket square back into a presentable shape.

“You zzhould have dezztroyed me when you had the chance,” Beelzebub sneered and leapt to their feet, sending the chair they had been seated in clattering to the floor.

Gabriel met Beelzebub’s gaze sharply as the demon staggered on weak legs and struggled not to buckle and fall. “Your wounds will never heal if you remain so full of spite.”

“Fuck off,” Beelzebub snapped. “Zzpite izz the only thing I have left.” The demon stalked forward, fueled by sheer hatred. They would claw those purple eyes right out of Gabriel’s head.

Beelzebub managed only a few staggering steps before they crumpled forward with a shriek of pain, clutching a ragged wound at their ribs. Gabriel caught them before they could hit the ground.

“Get away from me!” Beelzebub snarled.

“You’re wasting away. I thought someone as practical,” he said, hefting the petite demon up into his arms and over his shoulder, “as you would realize there’s no sense in fighting anymore.”

Beelzebub gasped, the wind knocked out of them and pain tearing through their torso as they were thrown like a ragdoll onto Gabriel’s shoulder. They clawed at his fine suit, tearing at the fabric as they snarled and kicked like a rabid beast.

Despite Beelzebub’s squirming, they were in such a weakened state that the archangel had no trouble keeping them trapped on his shoulder.

“Where are you taking me!” Beelzebub screeched as Gabriel walked out of their cell and through his elegant Heavenly home.

“You’re my ward,” Gabriel sighed. “It’s my duty to take care of you, whether you like it or not.”

Beelzebub shredded furiously through Gabriel’s coat, tearing at it with their mangled hands and sharp teeth. As their nails raked past the layers of his suit, they felt him tense and they were unceremoniously dumped onto hard tile. They lay sprawled, dazed with pain, as Gabriel stood over them.

“It would be easier to get you cleaned up if you were not in chains, but I won’t hesitate to put you back in them.”

Beelzebub’s vision began to clear, panicked by the sound of Gabriel snapping his fingers. The miracle had no effect on them--no, Gabriel had used it to remove his ruined suit. And underneath, Gabriel was no longer the picture of a perfectly sculpted angel. His torso was torn with scars of the recent battle, the imperfections shining like brass, the result of demonic wounds healed by angelic means.

They turned their head quickly, taking in the room Gabriel had brought them to. There was a large circular bath a couple feet from them, surrounded by an unnecessarily huge room built of marble, adorned with pillars. The light pouring in from one of the arches spoke of the expanse of Heaven beyond.

Gabriel bent to extend a hand toward Beelzebub.

The demon was insulted that Gabriel thought they would  _ take his hand  _ after everything he had done. And he was stupid enough to leave them unshackled with a clear escape? Beelzebub knocked his hand away and scrambled to their feet, dashing toward the open arch.

With a snap, Beelzebub found themself bound once more and crashing to the ground, their arms wrenched behind their back, forearms heavy with chains.

“Where are you going to run?” Gabriel asked. He walked over and pulled Beelzebub up to their feet. 

The demon tottered and stayed standing only by the grace of Gabriel’s hold. They stared bleakly at freedom. But Gabriel was right. Their prison wasn’t just that cell, or Gabriel’s house--it was all of Heaven. They could never escape.

“I can make your existence pleasant or unpleasant, Zebiel.”

Beelzebub choked on a furious sob as Gabriel used their dead name.

That sound, like a caged animal, gave Gabriel pause. He leaned closer to the demon. “... Starting with calling you by your demon name.”

Beelzebub shook weakly with fury and snapped their head to look at Gabriel.

“If you stop acting like a feral animal, I’ll call you by the name you like.”

Beelzebub wanted to rip Gabriel’s face off and shove it up his ass. They hated the thought of bargaining for the mere “gift” of being called by their own name. They would never bend the knee to Gabriel. But they were so tired. They couldn’t fight anymore, not like this.

Gabriel was pleased with himself that this bargain had apparently worked, as he felt Beelzebub surrender to his hold on their chained arms. He led the unsteady demon back over toward the large tub.

“Are you going to behave?” Gabriel asked.

Beelzebub looked sullenly up at the archangel, then away, not saying a word.

Gabriel could only hope for so much. He snapped his fingers and the chains vanished. “Get in,” he gestured toward the tub. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Beelzebub lowered themself to the edge of the tub shakily and hissed as their feet dipped into the water. It was hot and honestly felt like sweet relief. Determined to scowl the whole way, Beelzebub gradually lowered themself into the water. It stung, but by some miracle it wasn’t holy water. Their fingers felt numb as they rubbed at their forearms, the water becoming a dark cloud around their battered body.

The demon gave a start as Gabriel disturbed the water beside them stepping into the tub himself, glaring at him.

“I’m going to help,” he offered.

Beelzebub snarled and turned their back on him, picking at a stubborn scab on their arm. They jumped as they felt Gabriel’s hands smooth over their back and whirled around to grab his wrist. The movement caused a chain reaction of pain to radiate through their body and they crumpled.

“Beelzebub,” Gabriel said firmly.

The demon looked up as Gabriel used their name. It sounded familiar on his lips.

“Let me help,” he insisted.

Beelzebub hunched in the tub, but released Gabriel’s wrist.

It was strange to have Beelzebub at his mercy. He expected all of the animosity, the fury. Seeing Beelzebub begin to surrender should have brought Gabriel joy, but he was strangely melancholy. He had known they would win the war, that good would triumph over evil, but he had not imagined what the aftermath would bring. He wanted to save the demons, of course. They were lost souls--they had once been their kin.

He had known Beelzebub for such a long time. They had been playing this game of tug of war for so long--and now it was over, and the rules had all changed.

* * *

Beelzebub knew they were slipping. Solitude had always been their way, but they had not realized how much they relied on the raw companionship of Hell. They had never thought of it in such a way, for the tortured masses had been their underlings with no choice but to swear fealty. And yet, there had been a kind of camaraderie, a kind of community in Hell. 

Now they were alone. Alone except for the one being they saw day in and out. Gabriel.

No matter how they raged, no matter their feral outbursts, Gabriel remained patient. Worse, he let them be. It was as if the archangel knew that the worst punishment of all was to be ignored.

Their spirit was broken not by beatings and torture, not in the typical sense. Beelzebub was broken by their loneliness. At their lowest point, after hours of being left alone, they had screamed for Gabriel, so shattered that they had begged for him.

Sobbing, Beelzebub begged him not to leave.

Gabriel knew demons were lonely creatures. They had been stripped of their family, the embrace of God’s Light and Love. But he had never realized just  _ how  _ this crippled them. His heart ached to see this powerful demon, this former regent of Hell, brought low by mere isolation.

Gabriel touched Beelzebub’s weakly shaking head, and Beelzebub snatched his wrist. He tensed and jerked back, but Beelzebub held him fast and pressed their cheek into his hand. He could feel the hot tears on their skin.

That night, he opened the gate and let the poor creature crawl to him. They ended up on a sofa, the demon so small in his arms, their poor black heart fluttering as they pressed to him and finally slept for the first time in their miserable new existence.

* * *

“You do clean up nice,” Gabriel said as he brushed a hand over Beelzebub’s coat.

Beelzebub tugged at the black blazer over black slacks. It was not the cut they preferred, and the aesthetic of their bright white tie over a bright white shirt made them feel more collared than the actual collar around their throat.

“Not like I had a choizze,” Beelzebub muttered.

“Are you bitter about the collar?” Gabriel asked with a sigh. “I told you--it’s standard.”

Beelzebub glared up at Gabriel, but said nothing. They would not admit that they appreciated that Gabriel didn’t make them wear it  _ all  _ the time. Today was an exception.

Re-Creation had been underway. Eden had been rebuilt, and today would celebrate the last “day” before the new beginning. Time did not move as it had during the last six thousand years. It had felt like an age since Hell had lost the war, but according to Heaven’s records, it had only been six days. There was so much work to be done in a “day,” the definition of “day” had been stretched to its limits.

Beelzebub was not looking forward to seeing the Host of Heaven. It had been long enough that their fury had quelled to a dull roar. They would never forgive Heaven for their supposed “mercy,” the false pity they took on their prisoners of war, the summary enslavement and isolation of hundreds of demons. But, this “event” was the first time Beelzebub would be able to see their fellow demons.

“Are you nervous?” Gabriel asked as he straightened his tie and noticed the demon shiver.

“Nervouzz?” Beelzebub snapped. “No, I’m not  _ nervouzz,  _ Gabriel. It’zz going to be a fucking travezzty.”

“Language,” Gabriel reminded them with a frown. He cleared his throat quietly and fiddled with his cufflinks. “I… have no power over how the other angels act in their righteous retribution.”

Beelzebub glowered up at Gabriel. They knew what Gabriel was telling them. Not every angel in Heaven treated their demonic “wards” the same way he did. Beelzebub’s fury and despair about the other demons imprisoned in Heaven had turned into a dreary cloud of malaise.

“Listen,” Gabriel said and turned to face Beelzebub. “If you behave--” The sharp crease of Beelzebub’s brow caused him to pause and reconsider his words, “If you show them how  _ civil  _ you can be,” Beelzebub sighed and allowed Gabriel to continue with a bored look instead of an angry one, “it will give me an argument for improving conditions overall.”

Beelzebub bristled and shrugged Gabriel’s hands from their shoulders. “Yeah, ‘m zzure the angelzz will change their tune,” they muttered.

Gabriel had grown accustomed to Beelzebub’s defeat, but he longed to take the pain away. “If you’re civil,” he said more quietly, “I’ll let you have some of that gross matter you like so much.”

Beelzebub’s lips twitched. “Are you bribing me?” they snorted.

“Consider it an incentive.” Gabriel smiled.

That sweet smile made Beelzebub’s skin crawl and a shudder ran down their spine. Gabriel’s kindness was a whole different kind of torture.

Beelzebub had almost become accustomed to the brilliance of Heaven as it glared in through the airy quarters of Gabriel’s residence. As they departed, Beelzebub realized they had not stepped outside into Heaven proper since their capture. The very air burned their nostrils, but they were unsettled that it did not burn the way they anticipated.

Eden greeted them with an even deeper feeling of discomfort. The scent of fresh Creation, sterile with a ting of ozone, made their eyes burn. The sight of something--anything--other than the purity of Heaven made their chest tight. The end of the world had been far from green and verdant, but Beelzebub was reminded of that smell--celestial and occult destruction had much the same ozone tang to it.

Beelzebub didn’t realize they had been standing stiff and stock still until Gabriel touched their back and encouraged them forward. Through a massive arched trellis heavy with roses, Beelzebub was ferried into what could only be described as a garden party. Angels dressed in suits and gowns occupied a large clearing, and it would have all been very picturesque were it not for the other faction. For every gossamer-gowned angel, there was an accompanying dour-dressed demon. Some wore at least a semblance of a suit, but many were dressed in rags. For every demon was a collar, many tethered to their “guardians” by golden chains. More than one were muzzled, gone too feral to be deemed worthy of any scrap of dignity or freedom.

Bile rose up Beelzebub’s throat, a kind of fury they had not felt since they were captured.

“Gabriel!” Sandalphon greeted Gabriel warmly, gleaming in his white-on-white suit. His dark eyes turned down to Beelzebub with a smirk of derision. “And what’s this one called now?”

“Zebiel--” Gabriel said, but was swiftly cut off.

“Surprised you let that thing off it’s leash. Isn’t it a bit dangerous?” Sandalphon asked. He dragged his judgemental eyes from Beelzebub and looked up at Gabriel. “Well, not anymore, eh?” he chuckled. “Not much these beasts can do anymore!”

Beelzebub’s lip curled and they dug their nails into their palms. They averted their eyes to attempt to smother the murderous rage bubbling inside them, instead following the chain in Sandalphon’s hand. His captive’s identity struck them like a kick to the gut. Rextris, one of their dukes. The sight of her was enough to make Beelzebub sick, dressed in a ragged gown that looked as if it had been forcibly put in place from how ill-fitting it was, her mouth gagged to keep her silent. But it was the fact that Beelzebub hadn’t recognized her presence before seeing her that despaired them.

Rextris slowly lifted hollow eyes to look at her former boss. There was hatred in her gaze, but her spirit was all but gone.

“I’ve gone a… different route,” Gabriel said diplomatically. “The Golden Rule.”

“Do unto others?” Sandalphon asked, his lips pursed in a pitying smile. “How… quaint.” He deigned Beelzebub worthy of nothing more than a brief, suspicious flick of his eyes before he looked back to Gabriel. “Do not forget,” he reminded Gabriel pompously, “they are the original schemers.” Sandalphon tapped his nose at Gabriel.

Beelzebub stole a glance at Gabriel and saw how thin his smile was. It lacked the generous curve his smiles usually had.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Gabriel told Sandalphon. They shook hands, Sandalphon’s wrist rattling the gold chain tethered to his demon slave.

“You were right,” Beelzebub muttered under their breath as they traversed the party. “I’m zzure your argument for civility will zzway thezze  _ merciful  _ angels,” they sneered.

Gabriel squeezed Beelzebub’s shoulder and swallowed down the tension in his jaw.

As they drifted through the party, a commotion broke out on the far reaches--a fighting, flapping of wings, growls and shrieks. Gabriel tensed and rushed over, only to be bathed in the high, tinkling wash of laughter from a gathering of angels. A cluster of white chiffon and silk bordered the source of the commotion.

Two demons were locked in combat, tearing at each other with claws. Black feathers were ripped in clumps, floating briefly before turning to ash. They were tussling at the edge of a pond, and the water was stained like ink with their blood.

Gabriel turned to one of the angels enjoying the spectacle. “Why don’t you separate them?” he asked in a tight voice.

The angel turned to Gabriel with a serene smile. “We told them whosoever eats the first fruit in Eden will be made human.”

“But that’s not true,” Gabriel said, which only inspired a fresh peal of beautiful laughter.

Before Gabriel had a chance to account for his ward, he saw a rush of black feathers join the fray and heard Beelzebub’s proud voice rise.

“You foolzz!” Beelzebub growled as they dove between the two demons and strong-armed them apart. The demons snarled and fought with atrophied muscles, their eyes glazed with madness. “Don’t fight for their amuzzement,” they sneered.

“Ohh, Gabriel,” one of the angels complained. “Do control your ward!”

One of the demons used the confusion to snatch the now bruised and broken fruit in his sticky, soiled hands. “You just want the fruit for yourself!” he shrieked.

“ _ You, _ ” the other growled and grabbed Beelzebub by their jacket, feral, bloodied claws tearing through the fabric. “Traitor!” he screeched. “Traitor!”

The demon with the fruit cradled it desperately against his chest, but his eyes flew wide. “Traitor!” he screamed.

Beelzebub found themself pushed and scratched. A hand grabbed at their hair, while another ripped at their clothes. They cried out as nails raked through their feathers and wrestled them to the ground. The sudden attack caught them off guard--from their own kind! They brought their arms up, trying to shield themself from the rabid claws swiping wildly.

Then, they felt one of the demons lifted suddenly and bodily from them and heard a distant splash. As Beelzebub cracked open a blood-streaked eye, they saw Gabriel standing above them, all fire and fury, his halo ablaze as he grabbed the other demon by their rags. The fabric tore in his strong grip, and the demon lashed out with a panicked screech. Beelzebub was splattered with Gabriel’s golden blood as the archangel’s cheek was torn open. With no more than a backhand, the demon was knocked down.

Gabriel stood over Beelzebub, surveying the cowering demons, one crawling out of the pond like a drenched rat. His chest heaved, his suit ripped and torn askew, and his eyes burned. Even as he turned back to look at the angels, Beelzebub saw the blazing anger in his eyes.

“I will not tolerate any sort of violence on this hallowed ground,” Gabriel boomed.

The angels shrank back under the force of his voice, the ferocity of his bloodied face.

“Sorry, your Grace,” one muttered and curtsied, admonished.

“Of course, your Grace,” a few murmured and bowed, all but cowering.

Once the angels began to disperse, Gabriel looked down at Beelzebub.

Beelzebub’s arms remained up like a shield, splattered with pitch and gleaming blood alike. They knew true fear as they looked up into those eyes filled with righteous fury. The archangel’s eyes softened gradually from stormclouds back to foxgloves, and Gabriel bent to help Beelzebub to their feet.

“You’re bleeding,” Gabriel said quietly.

“Zzo are you,” Beelzebub managed out. They had expected Gabriel to turn his fury on them for acting so impulsively, for intervening in the angels’ little sport.

Gabriel looked at Beelzebub’s ruined suit, so rent and torn that it failed to cover their modesty. He could hear the demon’s spluttering, ragged breath behind him as it scrabbled out of the pond.

“It’s mine,” the demon rasped, “I have it. I have the fruit!”

Beelzebub grimaced and stared resolutely at Gabriel’s chest, unable to bear to look at their brethren brought so low.

“Let’s go,” Gabriel said quietly.

Beelzebub found their fingers knotted tightly in Gabriel’s cuff.

“Ow--ow ow ow,” Gabriel hissed.

“Zztop being a baby,” Beelzebub growled as they withdrew for a moment so the archangel would stop complaining.

“It hurts,” he muttered.

“Do you want it to zzcar? On your  _ perfect  _ face?”

Gabriel sighed and steeled himself. As Beelzebub returned to cleaning the fresh scratches on his cheek, he managed to keep his complaints silent, registering only in the tension of his jaw and the twitch of his eye.

“You’re an idiot,” Beelzebub broke the silence. “How did an archangel get zzcratched by one of those--” The demon faltered. Their throat suddenly tightened as they realized they were about to refer to their own kind as a ‘rabid beast.’ The realization hit them with the weight of Falling, made their black soul plummet with sudden desolation.

Gabriel saw the despair in those blue eyes. He instinctively reached for Beelzebub’s wrist to comfort them, but the demon ripped free of his grasp and threw down the cloth they had been using to clean his wounds.

The demon wrapped their arms around their own naked torso, the ruined remains of their suit discarded on the marble floor. They thought they had been alone before. Now they realized that they were truly alone. All their demons, their  _ subjects,  _ were lost to madness, to isolation, their spirit crushed and agency stolen.

“Beelzebub--” Gabriel said softly.

“Don’t call me that!” Beelzebub shouted. “Why zzhould I be any different?!” they raged and looked furiously at Gabriel. “Izz thizz my torment?! You’re torturing me, aren’t you?!”

“I’m not--”

“Let me become like them! Beat me! Treat me like the monster I am! Why zzhould I be different?!”

“Beelzebub--”

The demon shrieked and raked nails over their own skin, scratching their arms, clutching at their face, wanting to tear the very skin from their bones.

Their frantic arms were suddenly restrained, but not by chains or some celestial power. Instead, they were being held still by strong arms, pressed tight to Gabriel’s bare chest. Beelzebub writhed and pushed against the archangel with unbridled fury, but his embrace was unrelenting, until their shrieks and furious cries devolved into weak, dry sobs of despair.

“Why are you doing thizz to me?” Beelzebub moaned.

Gabriel’s grip began to soften as the demon surrendered in his arms.

“I want oblivion!” the demon sobbed.

The archangel ached for Beelzebub’s sorrow. He hugged Beelzebub tight, then tried to gather the shaking petite frame in his arms. Beelzebub growled and fought for a moment, then surrendered again with a choked breath. Gabriel held Beelzebub, their head bowed under his chin, their slim torso shaking with ragged, pained breaths.

“I don’t want to lose another…” Gabriel said quietly. Every demon he had destroyed had been righteous, another victory for Heaven, but he felt the weight of every one against his soul.

“I would rather be a beazzt than zzuffer thizz izzolation,” Beelzebub sneered thickly.

“I don’t want to lose  _ you, _ ” Gabriel insisted.

“What?” Beelzebub shoved Gabriel’s chest back to look him in the eye. “What do you mean by that?” they snapped.

“You. Beelzebub. My adversary. My  _ worthy  _ adversary.” Gabriel looked seriously into Beelzebub’s angry confusion. “Strong. Ruthless. Clever.” He smiled a bit and glanced away. “You were always smarter than me…” His brow tensed and he shook his head. “Why would I-- _ how  _ could I strip that away from you?” He frowned and looked at Beelzebub. “I  _ respect  _ you.”

Beelzebub balked, unable to comprehend how an angel, their arch nemesis, could feel such things about them.

“I… I wanted you to respect me, too.” He laughed hollowly, and Beelzebub saw a rare emotion on Gabriel’s face: sadness. Defeat. “But I’ve only worsened your suffering.”

Beelzebub looked at Gabriel in horror. This angel--this  _ archangel  _ had gone against the grain for them. He had rejected the expectations of his fellows, refused their methods of neglect and debasement. Not because he was better, but because he was different. Because his reasons for taking them as his ‘ward’ were different. He truly wanted to  _ care  _ for them--and for what? There was no ulterior motive but mutual respect. And in return, he, too, was alone.

“I am alone,” Beelzebub said quietly. “It’zz your fault.”

Gabriel hung his head, but his eyes shot open as he felt Beelzebub’s hands slowly take his face in their hands.

“Make it up to me,” they said and kissed Gabriel.

The archangel was startled to feel Beelzebub’s lips against his own. They weren’t hard and punishing, but soft, almost imploring. He jerked back and looked at the demon in shock. “Beelzebub…”

“Zzhow me I’m not alone,” Beelzebub whispered.

The desperation laced in Beelzebub’s unrelenting tone struck Gabriel to his core. The demon had asked for so little of their own volition, only for oblivion over and over again. If Gabriel could give them this, some small token to show them that they were not alone, he would do it.

He took Beelzebub’s face in his hands and kissed them in turn. He could taste their loneliness in the needy press of their lips, and it spurred him to kiss them more deeply. His fingers combed through their hair as he felt them melt closer. Their chest pressed flush against his, and a sigh escaped Beelzebub between their lips at the contact.

“Do you--” Gabriel started to ask if Beelzebub wanted him to touch them. They had almost always spurred even the most casual of physical touch.

“Don’t zzpeak,” Beelzebub breathed.

Gabriel’s lips were stolen in another kiss, each more heated than the last. He felt the demon’s thighs around his hips, not an inch between them. The sudden affection, physical and eager, flooded him with a desire to be as close as their bodies were capable.

He had never felt sexual desire, as such. It was not a force his body was designed for. But  _ pleasure,  _ he understood pleasure. And  _ intimacy. _ Intimacy was one of the most divine forces in all of Creation. Sex was just one of the many ways it manifested. It was a union understood by both angels and demons, albeit on different terms.

In his desire to be ever closer to the demon he had known for so long, Gabriel buried his face in their neck, kissing every inch of skin. The feeling of Beelzebub’s fingers in his hair thrilled him, made him feel seen and understood in all his intentions, misguided or not.

Beelzebub whimpered in relief and agony as desire pooled between their legs with nowhere to go. They hadn’t felt aroused in an age, as part of the punishment of the captured demons was restriction of their efforts. Their nails raked down the back of Gabriel’s neck and they canted their hips against the angel’s hungrily.

Gabriel had Beelzebub halfway to the floor and arching to his lips against their collarbone when their strangled cries reminded him that their very body was shackled to forced chastity. He stopped short and braced himself above Beelzebub with an arm to the tile.

The demon looked torn between gratitude and a roiling anger, frustration writ plain on their face.

“I can’t--” Gabriel whispered. “I can’t undo it, but I can… I can give you... w-whatever configuration you prefer.”

Beelzebub reached between them to wrestle with their fly. They stopped short before they wriggled out of their trousers, touching that featureless place between their legs. Blue eyes shone with pain.

“All of it,” Beelzebub growled. “I want everything.”

Gabriel slid his hand between Beelzebub’s legs and the demon moved their hand away. It brushed against Gabriel’s own effort beginning to rise against his trousers, and stopped short, as if surprised to feel something there. Beelzebub’s curiosity was sharply interrupted as Gabriel rubbed his palm against their pelvis and they were suddenly flooded with the carnal pleasure they had been robbed of.

Beelzebub moaned loudly and lifted their hips desperately into Gabriel’s hand.

His breath caught as he felt Beelzebub’s cock rise quickly against his hand, and he moved on pure instinct to help the demon out of their trousers. Even with their pale skin streaked with scratches, Gabriel was struck by what a beautiful creature the demon was. He had always seen Beelzebub as a strict, stern leader, but they looked fragile and hungry laid bare like this. He kissed them as their hands fought to touch more of Beelzebub’s arousal. The demon’s hand won over dominance to grip their cock with sweet relief, while Gabriel’s fingers found their vulva, amazed by that wet heat.

Beelzebub cried against Gabriel’s lips, gasping wordless pleas as they stroked themself desperately, lost to the haze of lust.

Gabriel was spurred on by the  _ feeling  _ rolling off Beelzebub in waves. It wasn’t love, but gratitude. It was a kind of release he had not felt from the demon in all their time in Heaven. Beelzebub was raw and exposed in a way Gabriel had never seen.

The sweetest words left Beelzebub’s lips again and again, “Pleazze… pleazze…”

Gabriel’s trousers vanished with a thought, and he moaned against their chest as he felt more of their bare skin against his own. They felt small, but so powerful in his arms. Every muscle was taut, drawing him in, holding him fearlessly. Beelzebub had never been afraid of him, not even when he held their freedom by a chain. How could Gabriel ever want to break the spirit of the being who never feared him?

Beelzebub grabbed him by the hair and kissed him fiercely as they lifted their hips and pierced themself on his cock. He gasped, breathing ragged into their mouth at the sensation. He was swept away and found the demon pushing him up, lifting themself onto his lap, utterly consuming him.

Although Gabriel held them with strong arms, it was Beelzebub who rode him, controlled him. He felt that power, that dominance Beelzebub had always exuded, that had been shackled and subverted. He was strangely victorious--he had not broken Beelzebub’s spirit, even if he had been company to smothering it.

Beelzebub pumped their hips on Gabriel’s cock desperately, turned into a beast only for this sweet relief. They gasped as their felt Gabriel jerk deep inside them. The archangel’s hands found their hips and took control, plunging deep with purposeful thrusts. Beelzebub collapsed against Gabriel’s strong chest, left breathless as their adversary delivered the pleasure they so needed.

The demon came undone, shuddering, trembling, unable to catch their breath as orgasm rocked their body. They heard Gabriel groaning, felt his hands bruising their hips, but they were numb to anything but wave after wave of ecstasy. One final thrust hit them like a punch to the gut, too much, overwhelming their body. They dragged their nails down Gabriel’s chest with a growl.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Gabriel said softly, his breath ragged.

“No,” Beelzebub groaned and cursed their traitorous body. They wanted more. They wanted to be fucked to oblivion, but Heaven had stolen even that from them.

“I can--”

“Zzhut it,” Beelzebub sneered and clung to Gabriel.

The archangel was out of his depth, but he trusted Beelzebub to tell him what they needed, now more than ever. He moved his hands shakily over the demon’s back, slowly embracing them. His muscles shivered and began to relax.

Beelzebub found themself out of their own depth, swimming in a sea of uncertainties. They were still alone, the only demon in Heaven with any scrap of wit or control left. But they were not alone. They had Gabriel, their unlikely companion after the end of the world.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this piece and want to see what else I'm working on, follow me on Twitter [@vol_ctrl](https://twitter.com/vol_ctrl)! Thanks for reading ~


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